Strong start to the school year

08/14/1998

Share this Story:

OXFORD, Ohio -- As 684 graduates are receiving degrees at summer commencement, about 3,400 incoming Miami University students will be moving into residence halls to start the new school year, Friday, Aug. 21.

Miami President Dr. James C. Garland will confer degrees in the a.m. and then with his wife, Dr. Carole Garland, will head to the residence halls to greet new students and their parents in the p.m.

While some fall athletes and band members will have moved in early, residence halls open to all students Sunday, Aug. 23.

Miami anticipates just over 16,000 students in Oxford this year.

****

Sherman Alexie, Native American author and screenwriter of "Smoke Signals," the first Indian-produced, directed, and written feature film in U.S. history, will address the University Convocation at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, in Millett Hall.

The convocation ties in with Miami's summer reading program for first-year students, who were asked to read Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven before arriving on campus. "Smoke Signals," based on one of 22 stories from The Lone Ranger, won both the Audience Award and the Filmmaker's Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

Convocation is free and open to the public.

Immediately following the convocation, first-year students will meet in small groups to discuss the book informally with faculty, staff and undergraduate volunteers.

Alexie's speech marks the first of several events planned at Miami this year to highlight Native American culture.